ABSTRACT
The system of general social protection has been effective in preventing extreme marginalisation in Finland; recently, however, the level of benefits has been lowered, especially the benefits meant for minimum subsistence. Homelessness is a phenomenon which is understood differently in different countries, depending on the circumstances in the particular country and on the tradition how the problem has been perceived. All residents of Finland are provided with basic social security, social and health services. Finnish researchers have studied the psychosocial backgrounds of homeless people by interviewing them in order to understand the personal reasons for their becoming homeless. The presence of special-group thinking in classifying homeless persons and others in substandard housing has, according to A. Jokinen and K. Juhila, even meant that the criteria have overshadowed the common denominator shared by all people living in substandard housing, and that is a poor economic situation.
